Grounded!
by lizzieXmarieXyoukai
Summary: Kagome is grounded from the feudal era! How can she deal with the growing problems of her time without her beloved Inuyasha and her friends by her side? And what is with her new stepfather? IY
1. Grounded

New story! Hope you like!

Chapter 1: Grounding and the Boyfriend

She tip-toed into the house, trying to sneak into her small room. She hid behind a corner as she heard footsteps on the other side of the hall. She held her breath until the offending steps walked away.

She ran to her room, and shut the door quietly behind her. She let out all of the breath she had held. Seconds later, the door was opened, and there stood her mother.

"Kagome, don't think you can sneak past me, little lady. You know I wanted you home before school started today. Your Grandpa had to call in and say that you suddenly took ill…again. The Feudal Era has not had a good effect on your grades!"

"I know, but…."

"No buts. I do not want you to go back to the Feudal Era and gallivant around like you have no problems until I see a significant improvement on your grades. That also means that Inuyasha cannot visit unless I am there with you."

"But, Mom…."

"Shall I make you not at all be able to see him?"

"Fine." Kagome started cleaning her room as her mother left. 'How to tell Inuyasha….' She thought, 'If Mom sees us, then my punishment will be worse. Maybe if I put a barrier around my room, then he won't be anywhere near it, and I'll just spend time outside of here, but pretend that I am in here. Inuyasha better come when Mom isn't here, so I can tell him the situation.'

She stayed home that day from school, seeing as she didn't get to the house until school was already half over. She began on her stacks of homework, and was almost finished with it all by the time she would have gotten home. She wrote a note to Inuyasha, and snuck out to the well house. Maybe he would see it and not come looking for her.

The next day, she went to school as usual. Her friends flocked to her, asking her questions about everything from her illness to her two-timing boyfriend. She overlooked all the questions, and asked her friends what had happened in school lately.

"Well," started Yuka, "The science lab caught on fire again, and we had to leave school after the first half of school yesterday. You should have been here! We won't be able to have any classes there, so we have to have our classes outside for science!"

"Anything else?" asked Kagome, wishing that they would say something along the lines of "Oh yeah, and Hojo found a girlfriend, and is no longer interested in you!", but fate is not so kind. Speak of the devil……

Hojo came running happily to her and her friends, calling out her name as he approached.

She put on her best fake smile, and greeted him when he huffed up to her. They talked for a few minutes, until the school bell rang, sending them off to their respective classes. Yuka and Eri were in her class, and they made her talk about her two-timing boyfriend until the teacher asked the class to be quiet.

The rest of the day went on as such. Yuka tried to hook the two up at least half a dozen times, but Kagome dug into her long list of excuses, and pulled out a winner each and every time.

The quartet went to WacDonald's after school, and they ate their routine cheeseburgers. Yuka and Eri fired questions at Kagome. She tried to dodge the onslaught of questions, but it proved no use. She gave up and started with her half-lies.

She told them that Inuyasha was a friend of hers that she met at the hospital when she was sick. He helped her with her illnesses, and they were nothing more than that. He had a girlfriend who also was always sick, to the point where she might as well be dead. He had trouble deciding between the living Kagome, and the dying Kikyou. Kikyou didn't want to die, and she would always amaze the doctors in her will to live.

But, Inuyasha wasn't perfect. He had a quick temper, and he was an orphan, and he didn't understand the true meaning of family. Kikyou was a strong minded individual who wanted to change him for the better, but that would take away his unique identity.

"So, that's all there is to that two-timing boyfriend?" asked Eri, the most suspicious of the group.

"It's so romanitic!" exclaimed Ayumi, the dreamiest of the group.

"I still say that Hojo is better!" said Yuka, the most blunt of the group.

Kagome sweat dropped. She glanced down at her watch, and then suddenly remembered that she was grounded. "Uh, guys…..got to go!" she exclaimed as she ran out the door, leaving three very confused girls in her wake.

She didn't get very far, though, because she ran straight into Hojo, who was carrying a box. "Oh, Kagome. This is for you," he said as he handed her the box, "This is all you'll need to make a special herbal tea that they made back in old times to heal all sorts of illnesses! I think it will help you out with all your conditions!"

"Um….Thanks?" Kagome said, unable to say much else about the package. Hojo beamed.

"You're very welcome! Bye!" he said, as he jogged back to his house.

'That boy tries too hard!' thought Kagome to herself, 'It should be obvious that I don't like him, and I don' want to tell him so. Maybe one of these days……Oh no! I need to be home!' she thought to herself as she looked once again at her watch. She had five minutes to get home without it looking like she was avoiding it, and the distance was at least ten minutes away. She took off running towards her house.

She made good time, at least in her mind. She controlled her breath before she strolled into the house. Her mother was sitting on the other side of the room, talking on the phone. Kagome walked up the stairs to her room, where she did all her homework.

She was about half an hour into her work when there was a knock on the door. She continued with her work, but listened in on the conversation downstairs.

"Oh, Takashi! You're here!" came the cheerful voice of her mother.

"Of course, Love. I wouldn't miss you for the world," came a soothing voice. Kagome had to reprocess what she had just heard. Her mother had a boyfriend? How strange. She continued on listening.

"Well, I'll just go call down Kagome and Souta. You remember Souta, don't you?"

"Why of course. I don't believe I have met this Kagome before. Where has she been for these last few visits?"

"Oh, you know teenagers these days. They would rather be out with their friends instead of at home with their family. She really is a nice girl, but she thinks her friends are more important than her schooling."

"Well, I'll deal with that. I am a teacher, you know."

"Of course I know. Maybe you can tutor her. Right now, she is grounded, and she isn't allowed to see a certain group of her friends. They are having negative influences on her."

Takashi nodded in agreement.

"Well, Love ((I don't know her name, and I can't think of a good one….)), shouldn't you be calling your two children down here so we can start dinner?"

"Oh, yes. KAGOME! SOUTA! COME DOWN HERE!" she yelled, not out of anger, but rather to get their attention.

Minutes later, Kagome and Souta were downstairs. Kagome got her first glance at the new man. He was in his late thirties, similar to her mother, and he had light brown hair that fell to the very top of his shoulders. He was wearing a casual suit, and he had a mustache that was neatly cut. All in all, he was an attractive man.

But, Kagome didn't know what to expect from this seemingly innocent, harmless man.

END CHAPTER!

R&R


	2. Escape

Grounded

Disclaimer: Me no own. U no sue, got it?

Chapter 2: Escape

"Kagome, this is Takashi! He's my…." Started Kagome's mom ((I STILL don't have a name for her!))

"Your boyfriend?" finished Kagome.

"Umm…well, yes…" said Kagome's mother, stunned that her daughter would be able to guess it.

"Why haven't you told me?" asked Kagome.

"You haven't been home enough lately. Besides, you don't consult ME about your love life, so why should I consult YOU about my love life?"

"What love life?" asked Kagome, "I don't have a relationship with anyone. Inuyasha has his relationship with Kikyou STILL going on. Koga has Ayame. Hojo has whoever he wants, besides I don't like him. Miroku has Sango!"

"See, I wouldn't know that because you haven't told me about this type of stuff!" By now, the two girls were at each other's throats. Takashi had to step in to break up the immanent fight.

"Ladies, this is nothing to argue over. What is done is done. There is no way to change that that has already happened. If we could, then history would always be changing. People would be appearing and disappearing through time, but that is not so."

"That's debatable," muttered Kagome.

"What was that, Kagome?" demanded her mom.

"Nothing, mother."

"Good, now let's go to the kitchen and have some of your FINE oden!" exclaimed Takashi. Kagome's eyes lit up at the word "oden". Souta stepped strategically to the side as Kagome dashed to the kitchen for her favorite meal.

The group, now joined by Grandpa, ate in silence. Kagome didn't want to talk with her mom, for obvious reasons. Also, she was enjoying the food too much to talk. Souta was afraid of the danger of a fight, so he remained quiet. Grandpa didn't have much to say other than ancient history. Kagome's mom ((I'll call her Mama from now one unless Takashi is talking to her….)), didn't want to talk to her angered daughter. Takashi didn't want to get into this family feud. He wasn't part of this family…yet.

Dinner went pretty smoothly, as did the accompanying dessert. Mama didn't want to cause any more fights in the family, but there was important news to discuss in the family. And that included Takashi.

They started after dinner, when they headed to the living room, where they decided to drop the bombshell.

"Kagome, Souta, Dad, I…. we have something to tell you. Takashi and I, we are engaged." Takashi held Mama close as the "fireworks" went off. Kagome was hysterical. She couldn't make out a coherent word.

Souta was not as hysterical, but he was surprised. He would have a father once again. No more telling his friends about his real father that he barely could remember.

Grandpa was surprised, like Souta, but other than the fact that this was to be his daughter's marriage, he didn't show much disapproval. Sure, he wanted to break the two up, but that was the conservative side of him. He didn't want his current life to take a major change.

Kagome, after standing there dumb, ran up to her room. The demon barrier around her room was torn down, and she wished that Inuyasha would come. But, she knew that he would not. She knew that he was able to read, and the note was very obvious. No way could she run away now, either. If she was caught, she might be disowned. Especially since her mom had been acting very angrily lately. Usually, she didn't mine if Kagome missed school to spend time with her friends. Given, she didn't tell her mom the whole truth about the well, but she did know enough to know how important that the well was for history as it is today.

She cried into her pillow, not caring about how pathetic she looked. After ten minutes of non-stop tears, she had nothing left, and tried to go to sleep. Things were always better in the morning. Her forgotten homework lay on the other side of the room, and it was not to be picked up anymore that day.

Mama wanted to go upstairs and drag her daughter back down the stairs and make her apologize for her rude behavior, but Takashi stopped her. Kagome would eventually open up to him, he told her. There was nothing that she should worry about except for herself.

Souta went to play video games as Mama and Takashi went out to a movie. Grandpa was in charge of keeping Kagome away from the wellhouse. He placed a spell around the wellhouse, oblivious to the fact that it even if it was real, Kagome was a powerful miko who could easily decimate the barrier.

Kagome fell asleep, and stayed asleep until about midnight. She was wide-awake, unable to sleep, and too lazy to do her growing pile of homework. She mulled over in her brain every way to see her Inuyasha without her family finding out, and she opted with the easiest way—climb down the drainpipe and avoid all human contact. Then, in the morning, Inuyasha could bring her back to her room. The plan seemed foolproof. She put on some jeans and a t-shirt, and started down the pipe.

She started walking the short way to the wellhouse, when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. She looked with horror as the two shadows of her mom and Takashi made out under the full moon. She had to hide a gag. It would blow her cover. She hid in the shadows as she waited for the two to head inside before she continued her journey to the well.

Finally, ten minutes after the discovery of the two, they headed inside because of the cool air. Kagome let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

She continued to creep to the wellhouse, this time with no more distractions, or so she thought. Following behind her was a small shadow, almost as stealthy as she. The shadow continued to gain on her, until she was tackled.

"Souta!" she whispered angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? I'm coming with you! Mom has been acting strange, and I would like to talk with you about it, but you are never home or in the talking mood. Besides, I want to see Inuyasha again."

"I can't bring you to the Feudal Era!" she exclaimed, still in a whisper.

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to have to see the horrors. Knowing you, you will either run at the first sight of a demon, or you will walk up to a dangerous demon and try to be it's friend."

"If you are concerned about my safety, then you must remember that you are a girl, and you scream at more things than I do!"

"I resent that," mumbled Kagome, "I guess you can come, but you have to remain calm, and do not talk to stranger unless I introduce you to them, k?"

"Whatever."

And with that, they snuck the rest of the way to the wellhouse. Kagome had to subconsciously tear down her Grandfather's pathetic barrier, and the two jumped down the well.

On the other side of the well:

Inuyasha was pissed. No, beyond pissed. He was super pissed. Kagome was banned from the Feudal Era, and from seeing him. He wanted nothing more than to break into her house and steal her away to his era, but that would not be the best for his beloved Kagome.

So, here he was, sitting in the boughs of the sacred tree. Sango and Miroku were asleep back at the village, but he could not sleep without Kagome. He never did, even when he knew where she was and why.

He smelled something from the well, and his heart missed a few beats. It was Kagome. She was back. He also smelled her brother with her. Whatever happened, it must have been important for her to bring the boy with her. He jumped out of the tree and headed the short distance to the well.

At the well:

Souta watched as the blue swirls engulfed he and his sister. Soon, he felt solid beneath his feet. He looked up, and the wellhouse was no longer there. Kagome started climbing the vines, and Souta followed, though very clumsily.

When they reached the lip of the well, Kagome felt a familiar presence. It was Inuyasha. It took all of her self-control to not jump him and explain her problems. As Souta got out, he looked happily to his one and only hero.

END CHAPTER

Yeah, I know, short…but come on! I am very lazy, and I have projects for school!

Sorry for any typos! I typed this in less than two hours! ((Which is really short for me!)

R&R


	3. Substitute!

Beware of a little OOC in this chapter!

Chapter 3: Substitute!

"What are you two doing here? I thought you were too busy being 'grounded', what ever that means, to come here!" stated Inuyasha.

"I am grounded, don't you notice what time it is! Anyway, I came because I just can't take it! My mom is getting married soon, and she just told me today! She is acting as though she wants the world to stop for her and her beloved Takashi," said Kagome, mockingly at the word 'beloved'.

Inuyasha snorted, "Well, then why did you bring the kid?"

"Souta wanted to get away from them as well, and the only time that he could escape for a while is now. We'll have to be back before morning, with no signs of leaving the house. I just can't stand to leave you guys for so long!" By this time, Kagome was staring to tear, and Inuyasha took her into his arms in a friendly hug.

"So, what do you two want to do between now and morning?" asked Inuyasha, though he knew the answers for both Hiragushi's.

Kagome's response was: "I want to see how Sango and Miroku are doing."

Souta's response was: "I want to have a ride on your back, please, and see all the sights!"

So, Inuyasha led the two to the village, and after successfully dropping off Kagome with the demon hunter and the monk, took Souta out for a little joy ride through the forest. The ride lasted for about ten minutes before Souta decided to head back to the village nad formulate a plan to deal with Takashi and his mom.

While Souta and Inuyasha were out, Kagome had already begun to start a plan. Sango had told her to just deal with it, and not worry about the technicalities of the marriage. Kagome should just stay in school and try to come back to the Feudal Era as soon as she is allowed.

Miroku's idea was very similar, except in his idea, she should tell her mother all about the travels and adventures, and hope that she understands the importance of the mission. Of course, this plan had a risk, because if her mother didn't like the idea of fighting demons, she could ban her for just that reason.

Souta came in, and put in his two cents. Of course, he, not knowing ALL of the dangers of the Feudal Era, suggested that they all hide out in the Feudal Era forever, and Inuyasha would protect them. That idea was immediately shot out of the sky, and Kagome decided to go with Sango's idea, and maybe incorporate Miroku's idea if it became desperate later on.

The sun was threatening to rise in about an hour, so the two Hiragushis and Inuyasha jumped down the well into the time portal between the two worlds. Inuyasha jumped them up to Kagome's room, and Souta ran to his room as quietly as possible. After Souta left, but before Inuyasha had to leave, he lowered his lips to Kagome's, and they deepened the kiss. They stopped for a breath of air, and after that, Inuyasha prepared to leave the room with a "goodbye, Kagome. I'll see you as soon as I can."

Kagome couldn't believe that he would have kissed her, especially because she had thought that he still had Kikyou, but that one act of affection was enough to quench any doubts in her mind about her beloved Inuyasha.

She managed to crawl into bed after changing her clothes just in time to look as thought she had just rolled out of bed by the time her mother walked into her room to wake her up. Kagome put on her best act to remove any doubts about her whereabouts the previous night, and so far it was working very well.

School was the most boring place on the face of the planet that day. The teachers gave out random assignments to all of the students, and they had just adopted a new concept that people have to have assigned seats in the lunchroom to "mix up the cliques and gangs that have been forming."

So, here she was, sitting at a table full of cheerleaders—she was sure that they had convinced the principal to get them their own table just because they were cheerleaders—herself, and Hojo. She and Hojo just so happened to be at the edge of the table, away from the cheerleaders.

Kagome tried to eat her Sloppy Joe—they weren't kidding when they called it sloppy—in peace, but Hojo kept on trying to goad her into meaningless conversations. She gave up on avoiding him, and tried to be kind to the oblivious boy. 'When will he ever get it that I do not like him like that?' she asked herself as he happily chatted about random things.

Finally lunch was coming to a close, and she left the room early, as most people did, and arrived at her next class five minutes early. The class—math—was her worst. But, no matter how bad she was, it was nothing compared to what was coming up next…

The class had a substitute that day. The substitue was a teacher at Tokyo University… the same place where Takashi worked. Kagome almost dreaded the teacher coming—for he was a little late.

The teacher rounded the corner of the hall, and Kagome saw him eye-to-eye and almost screamed. IT WAS TAKASHI! SHE WAS DOOMED!

Takashi acted as thought he did not see her, and instead walked into the classroom with his myriad books. He sat at the teacher's desk, and started with attendance. He went though the A's, B's, C's, and so on with a monotone voice, but when he got to the H's, he had to look twice. He looked in the room, and indeed, his future step-daughter was sitting in the class, looking as though she was going to die from the way she sat.

"I did not know that Miss Hiragushi was in this class," he stated, "Kagome, your mother told me to tell you something along the lines of 'You had better not visit you boyfriend after school today.'"

The class looked at her incredulously as she blushed ten shades of red as she tried to form a coherent sentence. Yuka looked at her with a look that said, "Boyfriend?"

Then Takashi continued, "Anyway, since that is out, let us begin with the lesson, shall we? Now, since you are all in geometry, you should know that…." And he started with the lecture.

Yuka leaned over towards Kagome, "What was that about?" she whispered.

"Mom's dating that guy," was the only response that Kagome gave, and she began taking notes, or at least what looked like notes. They were notes, but they were to Inuyasha, and not for class. She had to tell him about the recent developments, and that she should lay low for a while when this all blows over.

Classes were normal after that, but she could not get it out of her mind that her mom had told him about Inuyasha, even if it was indirect, as it seemed. She had wanted to see him, but that seemed out of the question now. At least she could send him a few letters so he would not feel like she was avoiding him.

She didn't go to WacDonalds that day just to avoid any false conclusions as to her whereabouts. She did, however, put the notes on the well house with a seal on them, so that only demons, half demons, or mikos could open them.

She walked into the house, interrupting a phone conversation between Takashi and someone on the other line. He had spent quite a bit of time over at their house since Kagome had found to about him, so it was nothing new.

She went up to her room and tried to finish her geometry homework. But, her lack of notes did not help in the least, and all of it was confusing for her. She had to read the textbook about ten times before she understood the instructions. Finally she understood it, and began on the rigorous pile of homework.

It was almost dinnertime when she finished all of her projects, homework, and make-up studying. She trudged down to the dining room, afraid of whatever news that might come up.

Her gut feeling was right. She was yelled at for the supposed sneaking out last night. Apparently, Souta had a little bit of mud on his clothes, and she drew up the conclusion that they were out. How right she was. But, the two managed to divert her attention off of the topic.

END CHAPTER

R&R


	4. Goodbye, Grandpa!

Christmas time is here again! Time for major updates! Read all of my stories, for they should all be updated on Christmas Day, unless I am held up in typing (likely). If they are not all updated, prepare for the remainder to be updated sometime before the New Year, and if I can really type, then I should have another chapter out then, then I have to have more out for my one-year anniversary with this site (January 10). Unfortunately, the first story that I posted, I removed out of sheer embarrassment!

Chapter 4: Good-bye, Grandpa!

'Darn,' thought Kagome as she walked to school the next day. She had barely slept the night before due to the "help" that Takashi gave her with her homework. He went over the entire book so far – most of which, she already knew. Then, he went ahead and told her why she needed to know each of the theorems and such. Midnight seemed to come and go before he could settle into her warm bed and sleep.

The forecast had called for rain that day, and it started early. Not prepared for the rain, for she was a tired mess that morning, she was drenched before her friends caught up with her and lent her an umbrella.

"Kagome, how are things at home?" asked Ayumi, concerned for her long-time friend.

"Same old, same old," replied Kagome, "Unless you consider that I stayed up past midnight listening to Takashi explain the ENTIRE geometry book so far." She yawned, and then continued, "He spoke to me as if I didn't know anything at all!"

"He was just trying to help," said Ayumi, trying to reason with her cold and wet and angry friend.

"Well, he didn't have to explain everything. I tried to tell him which concepts I didn't know, but he didn't listen." She yawned again, "now, I'm so tired that I'm kind of wishing that the school would explode or something before we can go to geometry class. He said that our teacher was still out, and he was going to teach again."

They arrived at school, and Kagome managed to dry off before she got to her first period class. She had to concentrate in order to not fall asleep in the middle of class, and still, she dozed off a few times. However, her good friends woke her up before she could fall all the way asleep.

Lunch seemed to elude her the entire day, and her stomach growled from lack of food. She had all of two minutes to eat breakfast that morning, and she wanted to head out as quickly as possible, in order to get away from Takashi, and get to her friends. Right then, even the mystery meat in the cafeteria sounded like heaven.

Soon, the bell rang for lunch, and she ran to the cafeteria. Of course, upon seeing the meat, she passed on it, and instead got rice and vegetables. How she missed the Feudal Era! Back there, she could eat all the junk food he wanted, and no one cared, because they didn't know what was in the food. Here, if she ate all junk food, her friends would reprimand her for her gluttonous behavior, and try to convince her that she was going to gain weight from all of the food.

Because the rain was intermittent, everyone went outside to enjoy the outdoors. Kagome sat with her friends at their usual table, her three friends talking about the random news throughout the school. Apparently, the head cheerleader was going out with the head of the science club, and she was facing impeachment. Her case was that he is the hottest guy in school – and few disagree – but it is "uncool" to date the head of the science club. Her trial was scheduled for tomorrow.

Kagome almost burst out laughing at the stupidity of the case. 'This is something to tell Sango… Oh no! I can't see her! I miss them. Maybe, I can write her a note about the whole ordeal, but then I can't see her burst out laughing at the stupidity of it all…"

"Kagome, are you OK?" asked Yuka, "You look freaked out about something."

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all!" said Kagome, with fake enthusiasm. Her friends bought it, and soon, she was headed in, for the showers had begun again.

Geometry was next, and she dreaded it. She could just tell that Takashi was behind the desk, planning out her demise in the class. The man, in her mind, was a total psycho! How can anyone like math this much? Not even her real teacher admits to loving school! But, she had to be nice to her almost stepfather.

"Good afternoon, class," he greeted, a smile plastered on his face, adding to his freakiness, "Today, I have arranged us all to go to the gym and use the concepts you all have learned to write a paper about the geometry in the gym. The paper will be due tomorrow, and it must be at least 800 words. I suggest you spend your time wisely, for you only have one guaranteed class period in the gym. I do not care how you spend the period, but beware, I will be here tomorrow, first thing, expecting your reports."

'Why me?' she thought to herself, 'I was planning on a semi-normal night tonight, but now he'll insist that I work on his project for hours on end! Oh well, maybe I can finish quickly, and then I can spend the remainder of the night planning how to tell Mom.'

Kagome took many notes for the class. The period flew by, partially because her friends were helping her out with the notes. Takashi only made one reference to her the entire day, and that was reminding her that she had to get her project done before she would be allowed to watch television. She didn't want to argue with him, so she agreed to the rule.

After school ended, she headed straight home. The sun had finally come out, and her piles of notes were stacked in her backpack. She was sure that Takashi wouldn't be at her house for at least a few minutes, which would give her a little while to get her things ready to work on for the project. Everything was looking up, or so she thought.

Grandpa was coming out of the house as she entered. He had on his hat – something he never wore unless he was going out for a long time – and his coat. He was holding two bags, and Mama was crying a little, though she was trying to look strong for her kids.

"Mama, where is Grandpa going?" asked Kagome.

"Takashi and I agreed that it would be best for him to be at a retirement home. He's been working so hard these past few years, and he needs a break for his last years. He has a few friends there who have come in contact with him lately, and we think that it is best for him," Mama choked out.

"Best for me?" asked Grandpa, "The best thing for me is working here at the shrine!"

"Dad, you'll break your back with all the work you do. Takashi will take over the shrine, and you can take a break with all of your old friends."

"I don't need a break!" retorted Grandpa, "I'm in as good a shape as your fiancé, and I don't trust that guy for a minute in taking care of my shrine! Besides, when you marry, it will no longer be the Hiragushi shrine, for it will be under his last name, unless he gives I to Souta, and Souta keeps the name Hiragushi."

"Don't you worry," came up Takashi, "I promise to keep the name of the shrine the Hiragushi Shrine, and I will not insist that the kids change their names to mine, unless they want to."

"See, Dad, he has it all under control," said Mama, now you have a car to catch. Oh, here comes your friend now!"

An old car parked on the street, and to save the driver the hassle of walking all the way up the stairs, Grandpa walked down with hid luggage, and almost too quickly, he was gone.

"Now that that's out of the way," Takashi said as he gathered the family, "Kagome, you go work on your homework, while Souta, your mom, and I play some board games, because it's GAME NIGHT! You can join us when you're done."

'Why wouldn't he want me around?' asked Kagome to herself as she trudged up the stairs to her room, notes in tow.

Meanwhile: Downstairs

"Dad," Souta said, under order to call him that, "Why isn't Kagome down here?"

"She has more homework than she has time to do. For my class, she has 800 words, and I heard from her other teachers that she had other projects due soon. She really needs to get them done," Takashi reasoned. Of course, he didn't need to reason with the humans. Brainwashing works just as well.

'Hm…' he thought, 'Now that Gramps is out of the way, all I have to do is rid the house of that miko, and the shrine will belong to me, Takashi. Then, when we demons have a stronghold on the shrines, we'll start on the rest of the city, and then the world! And the best part is: the only miko who can stop me is upstairs, doing homework, oblivious to the whole ordeal!'

END CHAPTER

Whew…. That took a while. Let's see, this was finished on Thursday at 9:13 AM, so I have some of today (busy), tomorrow (super busy), and Saturday (the definition of busy!) to finish 3 more chapters for Christmas. I may write some on Sunday (for my church is closed) but that's when we start to take things down (we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve…. And I'll spend at least two hours of quality family time at church!). So, I have a limited amount of time to finish the rest of my stories for Christmas!

R&R


	5. Revelations, Imaginations

Grounded:

Chapter 5: Revelations, Imaginations

'Whew, that took FOREVER!' Kagome thought to herself, referencing the report she had spent hours on. Who knew it would be so hard to write a report about geometry in a gym! She checked over her 815-word report, checking one last time for errors, before she pressed the "print" button on the screen.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened. She clicked the button a few more times, receiving similar results. After a few last tries, she gave up, and tried to find the problem. She checked the printer—nope, no problems there. She checked to make sure all the cords were in, and that too was in prime condition.

Little did she know that the problem was that there was a lock on the printer. Takashi wanted her to stay in the room and try to figure out for as long as she could to print out the report. He would not accept a late report, and she knew that. So, she continued to try to find the problem, staying up late that night as well, sitting at the computer, trying everything that she knew how to fix a computer. At about two, she couldn't take it anymore, and she crawled into bed. She would show him the report in the morning, and that would be the project. Hopefully, he would accept it.

She overslept the next morning. Souta was sent into her room as the "awakening-committee". Even with all of his attempts, she continued to sleep until he literally had to slap her. For the next ten minutes, Souta ran around the house, Kagome in tow, failing miserably at escaping her morning wrath.

"Kagome, will you stop this childish behavior and stop chasing your brother?" asked Takashi, getting between the two of them. "Oh, by the way, may I see your report now? As your soon-to-be-step-father, I have every right to look over your work."

"Hehe," Kagome started embarrassed, "You see, the printer wasn't working last night, and I was hoping that you could just look at the report on the screen, and call that the report."

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Takashi, "I am not going to give you any special treatment just because I live here with you. If you were having trouble, you should have told me, and I would have helped you get the computer back in perfect working condition. If you do not have it printed out by the time you leave this house, then I will have to call it a 0 in the grade book, and that will bring your grade down by a lot, I am sure."

"Fine," Kagome huffed as she headed to her room one last time to check out the computer. Maybe, something happened to make it better, but one never can be to sure.

As she stared down the computer like as if it was her worst enemy. She opened the word processor, then went to her documents. Seconds later, she was looking for the report. The titles were in alphabetical order, so it should be very easy to spot. She located its approximate spot, then screamed. The document was gone! She had spent all of that time and effort working on it, and now it didn't even exist! She searched the Recycle Bin, but that was completely empty.

She sighed, realizing that it really was just her luck. Oh well, she hadn't turned in a lot of other projects, so what difference could this one possibly make? She just got dressed into her usual clothes, then just took her schoolbag and walked out the door.

Nothing could have been worse than the greeting she received from her friends. Ayumi had seen on television a documentary about abusive girlfriends, and they were all convinced that she was showing a few possible signs of having an abusive boyfriend. She always seemed to protect him whenever they talked bad about him, which could be because she is afraid of him.

"Kagome, maybe you should consider your relationship with this boy. He may not be the right guy for you, and how would you ever know it if you don't question it?" Ayumi asked.

"I'm telling you, Inuyasha does not abuse me in any way, and if you even knew him half as well as I do, you would know that he would never do that to anyone. I know that he seems a little weird, but he is a great guy!" she defended.

"Hmmm, defensive aren't we?" asked Yuka rhetorically, "If I didn't know any better, I may think that you are trying to hide something. It is OK to tell us, you know. You should be able to trust us with information about your boyfriend. We are concerned about you, and we need to know these things."

Kagome just sat there and took all of the rants her friends gave her. They were approaching the school anyway, and once they got onto the campus, she could easily disappear without a trace. Once away, she could plot different ways to get away from her current family problems.

She knew something was fishy. Why would Takashi get rid of Grandpa? He had done nothing wrong, and he definitely was not the type one sends to a nursing home. Even Kagome knew that nursing homes were for the unwanted elderly. Once behind those doors, no one on the outside would care for them anymore. 'Why would Takashi do such a thing?' Kagome thought to herself.

'Unless,' she reasoned, 'he has something that he wants to hide from the rest of the family, and Grandpa was the only one who could bring it to the open! No, that couldn't be it. The only problems I have with him are school related, Grandpa related, and Inuyasha related… come to think about it, most of the problems that I have been having lately revolve around him. Maybe… no my imagination is just getting the best of me…'

Classes were once again, hell on earth. Teachers piled on homework and projects as if they were trying to meet a quota that they had failed to meet before. Before geometry, she had received two reports due in a month, a science project, and a Language project. Also, she knew that she couldn't do half of the projects because she didn't know that material, so she would have to do a lot of studying to get back on track with the rest of the class.

She wanted to sleep in all of her classes, but right as she got comfortable, an enraged teacher awaked her. She almost growled a few times at the rudeness of the teachers, but she refrained, passing off the habit as an acquired trait from Inuyasha. Oh, how she wanted to spend time with him and the rest of the gang.

'Maybe, if I can get rid of a few more projects tonight, I can free up tomorrow for a night with them. It won't even matter that I don't get sleep, because it is a teacher's work day! hey, that means that Takashi will be gone, and I don't have to worry about that. Now, all I have to do is get past Mom and Souta.'

"Kagome, will you please pay some attention to the class?" the teacher asked curtly, "I know you have problems with your strange case of ADD that appeared out of nowhere, and I realize you are in mental pain with your case of Kuru. Now don't forget that if you become shaky, I will call the hospital for you. But, considering that you are fine now, you should be OK. Though, now that I think about it, how on earth did you get that disease, and also, why are you still alive?"

"I don't know…" Kagome said as the bell rang. The teacher looked at her strangely, but let the class out.

'Why does Grandpa have to come up with such strange diseases…. Wait a minute, he isno longer here, so I have no one to tell the school when I am 'sick'. That makes a lot of sense! Takashi must have known that, and so he just had to get rid of Grandpa. But, how would he know? He isn't supposed to know anything… maybe it is just me rotten luck. In any case, this is a major problem. I have to visit Grandpa. He'll know what to do.'

Geometry class was embarrassing. In addition to not being able to give him the report, she also had to explain that the report disappeared out of nowhere on the computer, and there is no way to retrieve the information. She would have to rewrite the entire report, and he did not accept her late work. He showed her grade to her, then inserted the 0 in the mix, and she watched the percentage of her grade drop drastically, further into the failing range.

"See, Kagome, this is what happens when you do not ask people for help. You lose every time. So, next time you are having computer trouble, you ask me for help. Now moving on with class…" he said as he droned on about geometry.

END CHAPTER

Yeah, shoot me, kill me with a butcher's knife, but just don't hurt my creative bursts, lest you want the writing to stop. I have been busy lately (projects… fun.. not) and I just found out that next year, my sophomore year, I will be taking an AP course, which will load me down with even more work. To add to that, I will be in four Honors classes (I am in four this year, but one will be the AP course, and I am picking up another). Also, I go to a college prep school, so that just makes the classes harder anyway. To add to that, my brother's computer broke, and this one is about to die, but it is being shared three-ways between me, my brother, and my grandfather. I am very close to getting my own computer. I would have gotten it today (actually, my grandfather is getting the new one, and I am getting this one…), but the store was out and the sale ended today…. That is the SECOND sale we have missed!

So, here I am, writing in little bursts to keep the stories semi-updated, while still keeping my sanity with all of the work I have to do. Wish me luck as I go to school for another torturous week. I will need it!


	6. Come again?

WARNING: slight allusion to mature content. NOTHING BAD, but if you think like Miroku, then you might call it that.

Grounded

Chapter 6: Come again?

"Why isn't she back yet?" Inuyasha said as he paced back and forth. She had been missiong for way too long for him. Had she not told him to stay away, he would have gone back for her long before.

"She isn't allowed to come back, and you know it," Sango said, "And besides, you know that she needs to deal with some stuff in her time. There is more to her life than just finding the jewel shards."

"You say that, but you know that killing Naraku is the only thing that we are concerned with right now. Without Kagome, we have nothing to really do, except just sit on our butts and wait for her to come back. I don't know about you, but I would rather be out on the road searching than sitting and waiting for Kagome's mother to allow her to come back."

"Sounds like someone misses their girlfriend," Miroku commented.

"Wanna say that to my face?" Inuyasha asked while blushing as he started to chase down Miroku. Sango just huffed and waited for the hanyou to knock out the innocent, at least this time, monk.

'Kagome, come back to me,' Inuyasha thought as he ran off into the woods. Sango just let him alone, returning to the village to help Kaede with a few things. Shippou walked at her feet, and they discussed how much they wanted Kagome to come back.

Half a millennia later, Kagome sat at her computer, rewriting the report for her geometry project. Scattered across her desk, numerous instructions to other projects lay. A few of them were simple, such as just having to make a study sheet for a chapter in a book, but some of the others were a little more difficult. She had to make a bunch of posters, and organize a light show for her physics class. In addition, all of her teachers gave her homework because she had a day off.

'When are they going to learn that my life doesn't revolve around school?' she asked herself. Her almost-step-father should have known that she had a life, but instead, he just added to her projects and homework.

She finished writing the paper, then she began on the rest of the pile that loomed over her head, almost literally.

For a current events project, Kagome needed a newspaper. She looked though the one she had, then gasped.

"_**Geometry Teacher Found Murdered: Killer Unknown"**_

She started to read the article:

"_TOKYO. The geometry teacher at Tokyo High School has been found dead in bed. Four long gashes were found in his back, and he had bits of glass in his head. No fingerprints were found at the scene, nor did anyone have a reason for killing the man._

_The teacher, Mr. Hatanaka, has been replaced by the famous college professor, Mr. Takashi, who had been substituting all of Mr. Hatanaka's classes while he was out on sick leave._

_Police are calling this "The murder of the year" for it has absolutely no evidence of who could have killed Mr. Hatanaka. The man was a family man, and he was the father of three kids. He volunteered at the animal shelter and the children's hospital whenever he could."_

Kagome looked away from the article with her mouth wide open. Takashi was going to be her teacher! For the rest of the year! She almost feinted with the shock, and she almost exploded with the anger.

She began to wonder who could have done the evil deed. Mr. Takanaka was a kind man. Many a time, he had missed class because of his children getting hurt, or something went wring at the animal shelter.

Rereading the article, she thought of something. 'Four gashes… the only thing that I know that can make four distinct gashes is a demon's claws, but there is no way that a DEMON could have killed such an innocent man, especially considering the fact that demons are not as common as they used to be…'

After finding a worthy article, she spent about an hour writing her current events paper—first handwritten, then on the computer. She didn't want to have to explain to her teacher why it didn't print if that was the case. However, whatever was wrong with the computer was fixed, and it printed out normally.

Tired of schoolwork, she took a glance out the window. The sun was currently in the process of setting over the horizon of buildings. Compared to some of the spectacular sunsets she had seen in the past with the rest of the gang, this one was nothing.

She sighed. Before looking back to her work, she noticed something outside her window. A broom lay uselessly on the ground, unused since her grandfather had left.

'Come to think of it,' she thought, 'No work has really been done around here. Mom is always out with Takashi, so she really doesn't do much about the house. I am always up here working. Souta is not responsible for any work around here. Takashi is always with Mom or doing work for his students.'

She began to work on the rest of her pile of homework. After several hours of working and a few phone calls to her friends for help, she finished most of it. She just left one of the homework assignments that she knew the teacher wouldn't care if she missed it. Because she was tired, she crawled off into her bed and fell asleep.

Downstairs, Takashi and Mrs. H sat on the couch, cuddling in front of the television. Takashi stiffened quickly when he heard Kagome's breathing go back to a steady pace.

"Love," he said to the woman hanging on him, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Why don't you go make the bed warm for us, ok? You can also slip into something more comfortable." Mrs. H just nodded her head and left to their room

Takashi silently walked up the stairs, avoiding the known creaks. He turned the corner, stopping at Kagome's door. He opened her door, the door creaking a little. Kagome just rolled over in bed, and he continued his entry into her room.

'I don't think that paper looks that great,' he said as he looked at her current event paper. The computer was still on. 'Maybe, I could 'fix' this for her…' he thought as he went into the computer and made all of the words grammatically incorrect. After saving it to the computer, he took out a jump-drive, and copied it so he could print it downstairs. He continued to sabotage all of her projects, using special precision on her geometry projects. All of her notes and such also had to be dealt with. But, he was fast in working, and was out of her room in fifteen minutes.

After taking the things to the printer and taking the completed copies to her room, he headed to his room.

'Why do I even bother with the humans?' he asked himself silently as he crawled into bed with his fiancé. He couldn't wait until he actually married the woman. Then, when she was to 'disappear' without second thought, he, Takashi, would be able to do whatever he pleased to the miko. After about a month of him abusing her, he would make sure she 'disappeared' the same way as her mother.

But, until the day he no longer needed the woman, he would be content making her happy. He did, however, wish for the day that he could have a demon as a mate. 'Humans are just too fragile for my taste,' he thought.

Souta woke up halfway to the sounds of moaning, but dismissed it as nothing and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Kagome, too tired to really notice anything, stuffed all of her work from the night before into her schoolbag, and headed off to school. With confidence, she handed in all of her work, thinking that she had really done quality work, for once.

Geometry class came and went well, until she was preparing to leave the room. "Kagome," Takashi said with feigned disappointment, which she did not know, "Stay here after class. I would like to have a few words with you."

"What is it?" she asked when she approached his desk.

"What is this paper?" he asked, holding up the paper. Red marks filled it all.

"It's the one I wrote for your class…"

"Why are the calculations all off? Heck, the measurements are all off, as well. Did you really expect me to accept a paper in this condition? It looks like you just sat at the computer and goofed off, randomly adding in numbers."

"I didn't…" she said, "I have my notes…" She took out her notes, and to her dismay, all of the calculations in the notes were off as well.

"I am afraid I must give you a week's detention," Takashi stated, "It is obvious that you were not paying attention when you were in the gym, and you just made up random numbers, trying to fit the numbers that your friends had used. Really, I should disconnect the phone and the Internet from your computer…. That actually doesn't sound like too bad an idea. I'll ask your mother about it when I get home."

"You can't do anything to me," Kagome said, "Because you are not my father…"

"Yet," Takashi finished for her. "Oh, and about that wedding. We've decided to cancel it…" Kagome almost jumped for joy "…That is, we are going to just go to the courthouse, and get married tomorrow. We wouldn't want you to have to go any more time without a father. So, though I technically cannot do anything to your computer or phone tonight, I can, and will, do something about it tomorrow night."

"Come again?" Kagome asked before feinting.

END CHAPTER

That seemed like a good place to end it. Yep, next chapter is about the wedding, or lack thereof (at least for the ceremony). So sorry for the wait, but school is an arse (thought I am out). Now I just need to buy five books for summer reading, and I need to get the assignments that go with them. Darn, I'm out, and they still haunt me with work.

Expect another chapter in the near future.

Review, if you want to. If not, do so anyway. It only takes 15 seconds! You spent more than that probably waiting for your computer to load the individual chapters of the story…


	7. Don't pass notes in class

Chapter 7: Don't pass notes in class

Takeshi and Kagome's mother were married the next day, just as Takeshi had promised the day before. Kagome still had to go to school that day, and for all intensive purposes, nothing changed around the house, except for the fact that Takeshi began to strengthen his hold over the daily activities of his step-children.

Kagome looked around the geometry room on the day that her mother was remarrying. Takeshi, luckily for our favorite heroine, was too busy at the courthouse getting married, and so there was another substitute teacher.

Any comments made before about Takeshi's large, often fake, smiles could not even begin to comprehend the amount of smiling the substitute teacher did. Her name was Mrs. Schuck. Though she was, technically, a science teacher (she had actually won the outstanding science teacher award in 2006), she was more than qualified to teach a high school math class, and was good friends with many of the math teachers back at her own school. She was visiting Japan for a semester to learn how teachers in other countries taught their students.

The woman, other than her forever smile, was nothing special in appearance. She stood at about 5'5", and had short dark brown curly hair. She was slightly overweight, but it was not an intrusive size unlike so many of the other larger teachers.

In that one period, Kagome learned more about geometry than she would have ever hoped to learn from Takeshi. The woman had more patience than anyone else Kagome had met, which was saying quite a bit, considering how many people and demons she had met in the past.

As the teacher went on through the lesson plan, she commented on the fact that there was a list of "troublemakers", and at the top of the list that Mrs. Schuck read aloud was Kagome, because: "_She has many times missed classes because of illness, and expects all of her teachers to give her the work when she returns instead of having someone bring it home. _

_As a side note, don't let her cough, sneeze, talk too close to someone's face, strain herself, or do anything that may cause her some sort of problem because she is weak from all of the deadly diseases that have yet to kill her. _

_They include: Kuru (note that she can walk without support, nor has she been practicing any cannibalism), bird flu, smallpox, measles, skin cancer, diabetes (notice that she eats normally and does not carry anything to check her blood-sugar), ADD, ADHD, laryngitis, a stomach ulcer, mercury poisoning, lime's disease, and MS, all at the same time, in many cases._

_Though I am unaware of why she would do it, I am under the suspicion that she, or whoever it is who had called the school, was lying about her diseases. I think it was her disillusioned grandfather, who has just recently been put into a nursing home because he was so superstitious that it was a detriment to the family's health. He said that he could sense and destroy demons. I would not be surprised if Kagome was under the same impression._

_Whoever happens to be reading this, remind Kagome that she is NOT allowed to visit her boyfriend, because I, now her step-father, say so. Also, tell her that I know all of the details of how they met. To prove it to her, say that I am quite sure that that old tree would make excellent firewood this winter, especially if I was to find that she ran to her boyfriend's…place of residence._

After Mrs. Schuck read out the note, she smiled, and said "Well, I guess your step-father had a lot to tell you. Of course, I'm not here to judge you for your illnesses. It probably was just a big misunderstanding, right? Of course it was. Well, let's get on with the lesson."

If only it was that simple. All of her classmates looked at Kagome as the teacher began once again to teach. Yuka passed her a note discreetly. The two began passing notes back and forth.

"**Is it true that you are not really sick all of the time?"**

"_Of course not. I get sick a lot, and have to spend my time at the hospital."_

"**With your boyfriend?"**

"_With everyone who is sick. Oh, and to answer your unsaid question, I do not have all of those diseases, but my grandfather thought that saying that I had those diseases would make the teachers more willing to let me stay out of school. A flu or laryngitis like I would normally have didn't sound bad enough for him."_

"**What was that part with the meeting? There is no tree at the hospital."**

"_We actually first met at my shrine, next to the tree. Takeshi probably wants to get rid of that tree because that was where my father proposed to my mother. That, and he doesn't like the people that I hang around with. Though, I don't see why. I have gotten along quite well in the time that I have known them, and nothing too terribly bad has happened."_

"**Are they gang members?"**

"_Not by most of the definitions of the word. Miroku is a priest in training, Inuyasha a sort of punk, Sango is a black-belt, and Shippou is just…a prankster._

"**What about this Kikyou person?"**

"_For all intensive purposes, she is just a dead, walking pile of clay. She is rarely ever around, and should be dead, but Inuyasha stills loves her from when they were dating."_

"**What happened to them?"**

Kagome was unable to answer, because the teacher took the note and began to read it aloud to the class. Kagome felt as though she could recede back into her chair and disappear, but it never happened.

Mrs. Schuck looked up at her when she got to the "Kikyou just being a walking pile of clay" part. "Clay?" she asked, "Is that just a codename for something else that I don't know about?"

Kagome just sat in her chair, and didn't even try to explain. After a few seconds, Mrs. Schuck just put the paper on her desk, requested that Kagome stayed after class, and continued to teach, without skipping a beat. Somehow, during the note passing, she had ventured off-topic, for instead of describing geometry, she was describing how a nuclear reaction occurs. The smart students in the class were writing all of it down, but most students were vaguely interested in the topic.

By the time class let out, Mrs. Schuck had turned from her "bunny path" and returned to teaching as she normally would.

"Kagome," Mrs. Schuck called after the other students had filed out of the room, "Might I ask what is the problem? I know a problem when I see one. Now, what is of these illnesses? I have never heard of anyone having them all at the same time, without showing any of the symptoms."

Kagome sat in wonder as to how to answer the question. The truth could find its way back to Takashi, and that would probably be the last day she'd see Inuyasha, for the man (she wouldn't even call him her step-father) was evil enough to burn down the well house if he wanted to.

"Ma'am, it's just that…" Kagome decided in that moment that the truth was the best thing for the situation, "Takashi, my mom's new husband, does not know the truth. I haven't been sick with anything more than a cold for years. Details would be too much for now, but what you need to know is that I have been skipping school all of this time for something much more important. Please do not tell Takashi that."

"What, might I ask, is more important than going to classes?" the teacher prodded, trying to figure out why a student would skip as many days as she had.

"It's a story longer than I have time to tell. In a nut shell, the truth is that I…well, have you heard of the Shikon no Tama?" A headshake told her all she needed to know. "The Shikon no Tama was a powerful jewel, able to increase ones power tenfold. 550 years ago, a plot was made by a demon named Naraku to get the jewel. The jewel, during th plot, disappeared off the face of the planet for 50 years, because I managed to somehow travel back in time 500 years. The jewel was in my body for a reason I'm not going to explain right now, and a demon managed to get it out.

"A while after that battle, I lost the jewel; and when I tried to shoot at the bird that had it, I broke it. It spread to the furthest reaches of the country, and each shard multiplies a demon's power. I skip class to go back in time to try to get the shards back. But, every time we get a lot of them, we somehow lose them to the enemy."

"Who's the 'we', and who's the 'enemy'?" the teacher asked, taking in all of the information at once.

"The 'we' is my group of friends: Inuyasha the hanyou, Sango the demon slayer, Miroku the priest, Shippou the fox demon and Kirara the cat demon, though we have other allies. The 'enemies' are Naraku and all of his incarnations – kids. Also, there is Kikyou and several other demons that are after the jewel."

The girl looked at the substitute teacher before adding something to the effect of "don't tell anyone this". The teacher nodded before sending Kagome on her way.

If only Kagome knew that the substitute teacher was not the only one who heard the confession. A lone figure, hiding behind the door, ran off, checking his phone to make sure that he had gotten the entire conversation recorded.

Whoever knew that Hojo could be convinced to spy on the girl of his affections? Well, it IS always the quiet ones who are led to do the evil bidding of a demon.

* * *

END CHAPTER

Wow, its been like a YEAR since I've updated this thing… Whew… well, I'm thinking it to end really soon. The thing with Hojo is the first domino to fall in the end of the plot. Its been great working on this thing, but I've just been so busy with other things that trying to write on all of my stories is a little more difficult than expected.


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